I have prepared a standing rib roast (Prime Rib) in smaller 2-3 bone (4-5 pound)versions a couple of times. I general let it dry in the refrig over night, slather a paste of fresh rosemary, thyme, horseradish, garlic, pepper and salt on top and roast it at 350 for appromiately 2 hours till the center is at 130 degrees, then rest for 20 minutes. This year I am preparing dinner for 12 adults, plus kids and have purchased a 17 pound monster. Any thoughts with how long this puppy will take to roast? Can I roast it at 400 degrees? Do I need to cut it in half?

I purchased it at Costco and noticed there is a great deal of fat on top that I will trim down a bit.

Thanks for the help!

That is a monster.

I can't give too many details, because we generally wing these kinds of things, but based on a suggestion in some Jacques Pepin cookbook or another, we let the behemouth sit on the counter until it comes almost to room temperature, throw it in a hot, hot oven for maybe half an hour, and then turn the oven down to something like 225. The idea is that the more gentle heat cooks the inside effectively (you're only trying to get it up to 130, after all) without carbonizing the outer shell or overcooking outer perimeter of the meat.

We haven't done this often enough to be utterly confident -- though we, too, are serving up prime rib for Christmas, so we can update you about 3PM on the 25th -- but it has worked in the past.

PS: Whole Foods has prime prime rib on sale, for those eho have not yet bought.

Thanks Waitmen!
I am cooking this on the 26th (Boxing Day) so your thoughts will help.
What is a hot hot oven 500 degrees?
Any idea on timing.... 3 hours (30 minutes + 2 1/2 hours? My assumption is that a bigger roast will take longer to cook.

First off, the time a roast needs to cook has to do with the shape of the roast as much as with the size. Direct heat will cook red meat only to about a depth of 2 inches or so. So once a roast is over 4 inches in length, the rest of the interior cooks by convection and not direct heat. So your 17 pound behemoth may take only a little bit longer than a 4 bone roast.

The suggestion of lettig the roast come to room temperature is a very good one. If you go from the ice box to the oven, the center will need a lot of convecting to warm up and the outside may wind up burning.

I love the hot to cooler method of cooking large items (large roasts, turkeys, small children), but I start at 425 and then lower to 325 or so. I would start checking temperature with an instant read thermometer inserted into the middle of the roast, away from the bone, at about 2 hours. My guess is that 2-1/2 hours of cooking will do it. I am used to low moisture content, lower fat meats like Coleman from Whole Foods. They cook much faster. Costco serves up conventional beef with a higher moisture and fat content.

After cooking, remove the roast from the oven and let it stand lightly tented with foil (do not sdeal it, just drape some foil over the top to reflect heat in) for 30 minutes.

I am a proponent of roasting at hi temp. (500 degrees) and reducing the heat to finish.

I roast at 500 degrees for 45 minutes, then reduce to 300 until your desired temperature is reached (I pull mine at 120 for MR, anything above that temp will result in M or MW)

I did a 10 pound standing rib roast at Thanksgiving using the recipe in the December Bon Appetit. They had you let the roast stand at room temperature for 2 hours (yours would need more time), roast the beef at 450 for 20 minutes, and then roast at 350 until an internal temperature of 125-130 is reached for medium rare. The cooking time was surprisingly quick, I think only 1 1/2 hours total for my roast but it was beautifully medium rare all the way through. My husband swears it was the most meltingly tender rib roast he's ever had.

Bon Appetit had an awesome porcini and bacon sauce that went with it, really tasty.

the last time I went to cook a standing rib roast, it was on Christmas Eve a couple of years ago. I started with the high temp first then low temp. I started cooking it, went off to church, and when i got home, it was overcooked. This year, I did it differently. I put it the roast in the oven at 225 right before I went off to church. When I returned, the internal temp was about 85 and rising. When it got to about 105, I cranked the over up to 500 until the internal temp was 120. I took it out and let it rest for about a half hour. It turned out almost perfect. Good crust on the outside and rosy pink throughout on the inside.

That's pretty much the Alton Brown method which I followed on Christmas. He recommends putting it in the oven at 200 until it reaches 118, then remove the roast and pre-heat to 500. Once it's good and ready, pop the roast back in until you have the desired amount of crust.

It would have turned out great if I had let it rest a full 30 minutes (it was pretty damn good as it was), but I can see how this would be the proper way to go.

New York Times yesterday:Standing Rib Roast by David Burke

I'm resurrecting this thread since I've decided to do a standing rib roast for New Year's Eve. I liked Scott's suggestion about making a paste out of rosemary, garlic, etc. My question is would this crust end up burning if I were to crank up the heat to 500 at the end? Any why not pan sear the roast to start with??

Also, I believe it was in Cooks Illustrated that they discussed the pros and cons of having your butcher remove the roast from the bone, then tying it back on. Apparently it makes the final carving much easier. Any comments on this??

My comment is that you aren't going to get Costco to do this for you special, but they sell prime rib both ways, bone in and boneless.

Boneless is much easier to cut, but the bone-in has a better flavor. So, removing from bone and tying back on may be the best of both worlds, but paying butcher's prices for prime rib would give my husband (half Scots) a heart attack.

We roast at a low temperature (about 250) until it reaches an internal temperature of about 100, then crank up the heat to 450 and roast to an internal temperature of 130, for rare. Crusty on the outside, moo on the inside. Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

Remove from oven and let rest while you use the pan for Yorkshire pudding. We don't trim the fat because you need good drippings for Yorkshire pudding. Trim the fat at the table.

Yorkie Pudding (from James Beard)

Proportions depend on size of roasting pan. For prime rib, we use either the 14 inch or 16 inch pan.

4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups flour
salt and pepper to taste

Blend eggs and milk, then add flour slowly so it mixes in smoothly, pour mixture into roasting pan immediately after removing the roast (put on a platter to rest), put roaster back into oven at 400. Cook until done, about 20 minutes.

Important -- do not pour off any of the drippings first.

Yes, this is high in cholesterol. But it's a special treat. And if you're going to have a prime rib, you're not worrying about cholesterol, anyway.

So, would one season the outside of the roast with garlic and herbs first, if one were making Yorkshire pudding? Good question. Anybody who's done this, let me know. Around here, people fight over the last bits of plain Yorkie pudding so not anxious to mess with success.

I am doing a roast this weekend. I don't have any experience with rib roasts, we never ate them and I have never cooked them. What poundage would you recommend for 4 people? Also do you think I should do something cool like some inventive rub or something or just go the traditional style plain with au jus? I feel like the traditional style might be best to focus on the flavor of the beef but I am always one for trying non-traditional flavors. I feel like with a roast though it might just be distracting. Any thoughts peanut gallery?

This is an absolutely awesome recipe that I liked so much the first time I tried it six years ago that I have used it exclusively since.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/15824 If you buy a dry aged Prime standing rib roast and follow the recipe correctly I honestly believe you will have a Prime Rib that is equal to or superior to any that I have ever had anywhere. And I've been to a LOT of steak houses over the years!!!!! Please read the "reviews" that are linked to the recipe: everyone is a rave. (NOTE: I cook the roast to 125 degrees (Not the 115 specified) for medium rare. It will continue to cook when you remove it from the over, eventually reaching about 130 or so.)

I would use a four rib roast cut from the large end which will be approximately double the amount of beef you will need for four adults. BUT the beef that is left over will make the best sandwiches you'll ever have. I've never used a smaller roast so I don't know how, say, a two or three rib roast would turn out. For us it is important to have leftovers and this works perfectly. The key to the recipe above is to use a really, really good beef stock. (Let me UNDERLINE THIS LAST POINT: the stock makes an incredible difference with the gravy.) This is the recipe I use for it which will take approximately 15 hours to make but it is worth it: http://www.emerils.com/recipes/by_name/beef_stock.html Please note that it says that you cook this down for four hours. You do NOT. It takes almost twelve hours to cook it down! Use a good red wine-I'll use something like Chateau Souverain cab.

At the end of the day it is a LOT of work to make a Prime Rib like this but I stand by my comment: these are the recipes that will make a Prime Rib equal to or better than any in the world. It is worth the work and "investment." (It isn't cheap to make this stock, either, but you'll get about eight or nine cups.)

I was thinking of making a horseradish-crusted beef tenderloin for New Year's (it seems like we're always eating somewhere else for Thanksgiving and Christmas), but this thread is really pulling me towards a small standing rib roast. That's what my mother usually made for Christmas. She stuck with a moderate temperature all the way through, but I've got some time to mull this discussion over and decide. (She did nothing fancy with it, just salt and pepper, served au jus.

I've made standing rib roasts both ways: (1) started with high heat and then low and (2) started with low heat then cranked up. The last time I tried hi to lo I did the high part, turned the oven down and went to 5:00 Mass. The roast was overcooked by the time I got back from church. The next year, I put the meat in the oven at low heat, then went to church. When I got back the internal temp was up to about 100 so I took it out of the oven to rest while I cranked up the heat. When the oven got up to about 500, I put it back in for about 15 minutes and it came out with a nice brown crust. The low to high method is what I will use in the future.

On the bones issue, I leave them attached but tie them on to keep them from pulling away from the meat during cooking. They are real easy to remove after cooking. Just turn the roast on its side so that the bones are pointing up and slice the entire slab of bones off with your carving knife. They will detach very easily. Then separate the bones from one another and serve on a separate platter for those who also want to gnaw.

By the way, the low-to-high method is insanely easy to do on an offset smoker. And you then have more kitchen and oven space to do the rest of your cooking. You can vary the amount of smokiness through use of lump (least smoke), briquet (more smoke), and chunks (most smoke).

Cook's Illustrated also has a recipe for doing this on the BBQ. I'm considering going this route for precisely the same reasons you've mentioned. Note they good high to low, but no reason to believe that wouldn't work. Here it is for your consideration:

1. Rub roast with oil and season generously with pepper. Spread salt on rimmed baking sheet; press roast into salt to coat evenly on all sides. Tie meat back onto bones exactly from where it was cut, passing two lengths of twine between each set of bones and knotting securely. Refrigerate roast, uncovered, for 1 hour, then let stand at room temperature 2 additional hours.

2. Meanwhile, soak wood chunks in water for 1 hour; drain. About 20 minutes before grilling, open top and bottom grill vents. Using chimney starter, ignite 4 quarts charcoal briquettes (about 60 coals) and burn until partially covered in thin, gray ash, about 15 minutes. Empty coals into grill; build modified two-level fire by arranging coals to cover one-half of grill. Place disposable roasting pan on empty side of grill. Position cooking grate over coals, cover grill, and heat until hot, about 5 minutes; scrape grate clean with grill brush.

3. Place roast on grate over hot side of grill and sear on fat-covered sides until well browned, turning as needed, 8 to 10 minutes total. (If flare-ups occur, move roast to cooler side of grill until flames die down.) When thoroughly browned, transfer roast to cooler side of grill, bone side down, with tips of bones pointed away from fire. Place soaked wood chunks on coals. Cover grill, positioning top vent over roast to draw smoke through grill. Grill-roast (do not remove lid for at least 1 1/2 hours) until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of roast reads 125 degrees for medium-rare, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4. Transfer roast to cutting board and let rest 20 minutes, lightly tented with foil. Remove strings and bones, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, and serve.

Two points to add to this discussion:

Instead of paying somebody else to dry age your meat, you can do it yourself. I started by reading Alton Brown's method, but went on from there. My probably heretical approach is to salt and pepper the thing well, wrap it in fine cotton cloth, and put it in the fridge. I unwrap the cloth after a day or two, place it all on top, and just leave it there. I have gotten some really good aged-tasting roasts in just a few days with this treatment. I also shave off the surface with the salt and pepper before roasting (very thinly), and eat it straight. I'm not kidding, this is true; it's the best part of the whole deal. I assume no liability if anybody tries this, however, and that evil Jacques Gastreaux is my attorney for food-related matters, so be forewarned.

As to the roast to use, if you're going to do the whole thing that's fine, but if you do only part then neither the loin (ribs 9-12) or chuck (ribs 6-9) end is necessarily best. Rather, the best meat on the roast, indeed IMO the whole animal, is that "C" shaped muscle on the outside of the roast, on the side opposite the bone--sorry I forget its Latin name. Anyway, that muscle is of maximum size in the middle of the roast. So if you're going to do only part of a whole roast, see if you can con your butcher into cutting one and selling you ribs 8-10. I asked the guy at Wegmans once if they'd do that, and he said yes, but since I no longer live within shopping distance of Wegmans I never got a chance to actually test them.

Note that you don't need to use any smoking wood, per se, just lump charcoal, to get a good result without a lot of extra smoke.

This may be anathema to some BBQ lovers, but I persuaded the DH to just smoke the Thanksgiving turkey over plain hardwood lump charcoal, no extra smoking wood (e.g. fruit wood, hickory wood) so it did not have an intensely smoky flavor. It tasted mildly smoky, and did not overpower the mild turkey flavor. Came out excellent.

If I were going to smoke a rib roast, this is what I'd do, because rib eye flavor is rather delicate.

We got a prime, dry-aged standing rib roast from Balducci's, and followed this recipe.

Wow.

We didn't even use a high quality wine or stock, and it still came out unbelievable. Joe is right - I'm not sure I've ever had a finer prime rib at a restaurant.

Thanks to this thread for inspiration. I cooked my first rib roast for New Year's Eve dinner and it was delicious! I bought a 4 pound roast with the bones trimmed and tied back on (Choice roast was $13.50/pound at my local meat market). I went very simple with the prep - seasoned with pepper and salt mixed with rosemary and sage. I started the roast in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes and then lowered the oven temp to 350 degrees. I cooked the roast to 120 degrees and then let it rest for 20 minutes (final temp when we carved was 134 degrees - and the meat was perfect). I used a sauce recipe from Martha Stewart's website because I wanted a sauce I could make ahead (the dinner was not at my home and I wanted to do as much prep in my own kitchen as possible) - simple sauce of mushrooms and garlic sauteed in olive oil, then deglazed with red wine and veal demi glace, reduced until thick enough to cover spoon.

Thanks again for the inspiration!

I'm planning on doing a standing rib roast for a small get-together a week from tomorrow, and I've got a couple questions:

1) is $12/lb at WF a good price? It wasn't specified as Choice vs Prime, so I'm assuming it is Choice. Should I try over at Eastern Market? (I don't have a car, so any other butcher recommendations must be near a metro, and preferably in the city)

2) I'd like to dry age it, but I'll be out of town for the weekend immediately preceding the Monday night get-together. Everything I've read about dry-aging in your fridge says that you need to change the towel covering daily. Is it possible/recommended to leave it over the weekend without changing the towel? Any other suggestions? I'll probably end up just buying it Sunday night and dry-aging it for 24 hrs, but I thought it might be worth asking.

I'm also planning on doing a Yorkshire pudding, and maybe some sort of au jus (although I read that a jus is more difficult to prepare from a dry-aged roast because there are fewer drippings). And yea, I've never really had standing rib roast or Yorkshire pudding (much less prepared them), so any basic tips not covered above would be helpful. This thread has been burrowing it's way through my brain since it started, and I finally found an excuse to do it myself.

Price varies over time, so it's hard to say what is a good price right now. Why not give the Eastern Market folks, and/or Wegmans, a call and ask them their current price on both choice and prime. That will give you some guidance.

24 hours of aging won't give you much. I can't imagine that not changing the cloth daily would matter, so long as there is enough cloth so that it won't become saturated, but that shouldn't be a big issue.

Dry-Aging thread
(Yeah, you've probably already read it Mr. everything, but in case anyone else is looking for more information. )

Ah, I forgot about that thread, thanks for the link. I think I'm leaning towards not trying it, since it's my first rib roast and I should probably focus on the basics before I get fancy.